Off-Shore Wind Energy Development in International Law

Abstract

The production of energy from wind through the use of offshore installations is a business that has been growing rapidly over the last decade. Offshore wind-power remains today the most expensive energy generating technology being considered for a large scale deployment. This chapter reviews the international legal regime applicable to the development of offshore wind farms, taking into account the possible impacts produced on the marine environment and its living components by the placement and functioning of wind turbines. In the perspective of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the question of which legal regime applies to offshore wind-energy exploitation essentially depends on the location of wind farm installations. At the international level, an instrument which indirectly deals with the issue of wind-energy production in a nature conservation perspective is the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (the Bonn Convention). Keywords: Bonn Convention; international legal regime; marine environment; offshore installations; Offshore wind farms; UNCLOS; wind turbines